Castaways
by Midnight Phantasma
Summary: When Allen and his classmates crash onto an uncharted island, they realize it will take more than their own survival skills if they plan on getting out alive. But can they get past their own petty differences in order to work together?
1. Prologue

**A/N:** So yeah, I was at the pool today with an urge to write but no urge to continue any of my other fics. (You can't complain though, considering I've updated most of them in recent days.) Anyway, so then I thought, why not steal someone else's plot and combine it with my favorite characters? It's lazy. It's stealing. And for someone as unmotivated as me, it's absolutely genius. So yeah, I've thrown our lovely **D. Gray-Man** characters onto an uncharted island! Will they survive? Will they kill each other? Will they eat each other alive? With this authoress even continue the story?

(Actually, I'm just kidding. This is written for fun, so it's not completely realistic.)

I was originally going to write a really long first chapter, but then recalled that prologues existed for a reason. So yeah, as much as I love this idea, I'd hate to go all out only to find that no one is actually reading this. So enjoy, and let me know if you'd like to read more!(:

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 **Disclaimer** **:** There are no words to describe my sadness. Please, do forgive me.

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Prologue

* * *

 **—3rd Person POV—**

 **~Allen~**

In an attempt to drown out the conversations of his rowdy classmates, Allen rammed his headphones in, sinking lower into his seat. He'd only been attending this lousy school for a few months, but because of the Ecology class he'd mindlessly signed up for, he was required to attend the class trip to some eco-camping adventure in Micronesia (wherever _that_ was). It'd been hell trying to raise the money to pay for the trip in addition to his master's piling debts, and what had he gotten for it? That's right, he was now crammed in a tiny airplane somewhere over the South Pacific with about eight other teenagers and a tiny brat. (Seriously, who thought it a good idea to bring along their kid brother?)

Through the blasting music, Allen heard one of his classmates (Daisya?) announce, "I-I think I'm losing it…" Stumbling to his feet, head crouched down to keep it from slamming into the roof, Daisya leaned over to the girl sitting in front of Allen and pretended to puke on her, spraying her with water from his water bottle.

Predictably, she shrieked. "Ahhh! Daisya, you are so _gross_!" Lala shouted, rolling up her magazine and smacking him away. But Daisya, along with their classmates, only burst into laughter as he proceeded to dart down the aisle, squirting them all with water.

Rolling his eyes, Allen diverted his attention back to the window, observing the vicious rainwater slamming against the glass. Around him, his classmates continued to laugh and joke around, dousing each other with their water bottles. A small part of him yearned to join in, but he knew Cross would probably drag him off to some other part of the world, and he'd never see them again. Soon enough, they'd all be a distant memory. Just like every other school he'd ever attended.

Suddenly, the plane gave a nasty jerk, causing them to stumble.

Shouldering open the door that separated them, the pilot shouted, "Buckle up, _now_!"

In quick succession, everyone was back in their seats, clasping on their seatbelts.

"Is that the engine?! Did it break? Can we fly with one engine?" Lenalee demanded, turning her frantic eyes towards the rest.

"I don't know, Lenalee, maybe if it doesn't get worse?" Lavi answered, eyes glued towards the window. But nothing could be seen through the torrent.

Lightning struck once more.

Allen's hands gripped the handles of his seat, becoming white with strain as he underwent the breathless sensation of falling. The plane was descending, and quickly. Amidst the chaos of shrieks and thunder, he could hear the pilot shouting for mayday into his radio. Everyone else around him clasped each other's hands, prayers being murmured underneath their breaths, but Allen could only focus on the fear threatening to swallow him up.

"Hold on tight!" the pilot commanded, "It's going to be a rough landing!"

 _Land?! Where the hell are we going to land?! There's only ocean beneath us!_ That's what Allen wanted to shout back, but already they were dropping quite steeply. Clenching his eyes shut, Allen prepared himself to meet a watery grave, but then, with a mighty crash, the airplane came to an immediate halt.

Shocked to silence, Allen and his classmates exchanged wide-eyed glances, wondering if they'd just dreamt the whole incident. But no. They were on firm, solid ground.

Lala was the first to break the silence. "A-are we dead?" she wondered, voice shaky.

Quite callously, Daisya pinched her. "I guess not!" he chuckled, fairly boggle minded, not even reacting when Lala smacked him in the shoulder for pinching her.

Behind Allen, Chomesuke fuzzed over her younger, adoptive brother. "Are you okay?" she demanded, hands frantically patting him down.

"Uh, all things considered," Timothy replied, voice dazed, "I'm awesome."

Shaking himself out of his own daze, Allen leaned forward, listening to the pilot's calls on the radio. But it appeared he was not receiving any replies. "Slight change of plans, kids," the pilot stated, turning his gaze towards them, expression equally apprehensive.

* * *

 **A/N:** So yeah, an old cliche meets our favorite characters!(: And yes, of course this is based off something I watched. Can you guess it? And no, it's not _Lost._ No weird, mist demons to be found on this island! Actually, don't quote me on that. I only watched a chunk of the first season, so I honestly don't even know what happened, just that there was apparently something weird about the island. (My prediction had been dinosaurs, lol.)

Anyway, review to let me know what you think and if you'd like to see this continued!(:


	2. Picking up the Pieces

**A/N:** Hello everyone!(: Sorry this chapter to took longer than expected, but I was out of the country these past four days, so I haven't gotten much of a chance to write. Anyway, thank you to **Ennael** , **jy24** , **The Ruisu** , and **The Mirror Above the Sink** for being my first reviewers of this story! I hope I don't disappoint!(:

Please enjoy!

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 **Disclaimer** **:** I've spent a good portion of my teenage years disclaiming this manga, and I sadly continue to do so.

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Chapter 1

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 **Day 1**

* * *

 **—3rd Person POV—**

 **~Lavi~**

When Lavi had agreed to attend this trip, he'd looked forward to hanging out with Lenalee and causing trouble for Yuu. But this… he'd never expected _this_. In the dumbfounded silence that followed their crash, the redhead's thoughts raced quickly. They couldn't have possibly gone too far off from their course, so it was likely that their situation was only temporary… right? Shoving aside his doubts, Lavi shook himself back to reality, and keenly returned his attention to the going-ons around him.

"Is everyone alright?!" their pilot demanded, turning around in his seat to eye the ragtag group of teens.

Everyone murmured their consent, and beside him, Lenalee gazed through the window, frantically muttering, "We're going to be late! We were supposed to meet the rest of the class and the adults!"

"Um, you really need to straighten out your priorities, Lenalee," Lavi murmured, though he went unheard under Daisya's loud exclamations.

"Aw darn! We don't want to be _late_! It'll be a disaster!" Daisya snarked, before slumping back in his seat and grumbling, "It's too late. We _already_ have one!"

Behind him, Chomesuke finally quit fussing over her little brother and was the first to stumble out of her seat. Hurrying down the narrow aisle, she finally came to a halt before the pilot and demanded, "Can't you call the other plane with the rest of our group, cho~? Or… or call the airport at Palau! Call the Navy for all I care! Just get in contact with someone!"

"Maybe I can just tune into the Yankee's game while I'm at it!" the pilot answered cuttingly.

"That's not funny, cho~!" Chomesuke snapped, arms crossed. Lavi was just as tense as his classmates as they quietly listened to their heated conversation.

"You don't want funny?!" the pilot challenged her. "Listen!"

Chomesuke was not the only one who turned their attention to the radio as their pilot switched it on, only to produce senseless static. "Which means, cho~?" she prompted him.

"Which _means_ that this radio is about as useful as this plane! How's _that_ for funny?" the pilot snarked.

Unable to stand the tense atmosphere any longer, Lavi was the next to hop out of his seat. In a few, quick steps, he reached the exit and unlatched the hatch, a hand reaching up to shield his single eye from the sun as he jumped down onto the sandy beach. Lavi released a low whistle. "That's one hell of a close landing," he murmured, eyeing the tail end of the plane hanging ominously over the crashing waves. Lenalee, Daisya, and Lala piled into a group behind him as they curiously observed their surroundings.

"Where do you think we are?" Lenalee wondered, stepping up beside him, eyes brimming with worry.

Much to their surprise, Daisy suddenly scoffed, "Who cares? Look at the water! I'm so going in!"

"Hey clownface, reality check!" Kanda suddenly snapped, hopping out of the plane beside them. "We nearly fucking died!"

"Yeah, _nearly_ ," Daisya emphasized, "That's the _point_! And did anyone get hurt? Nope!"

"But we _crashed_!" Lenalee stressed, though Lavi genuinely doubted that anything she said would change Daisya's mind.

"Yeah!" Daisya nodded, cocky smirk back in place, "The trip's _over_! We're going to get yanked out of here in no time. Might as well have fun!"

Lavi and Lenalee exchange doubtful gazes, and behind them, Kanda scoffed in disbelieve. But out of all of them, Lala seemed to buy it. Expression becoming relieved, the blonde girl exclaimed, "Right!" With a breathless laugh, she reassured herself, "It's not like we're going to be here long!" She then followed Daisya's example of stripping down to her bathing suit, before the duo rushed down the beautiful blue waters.

"Isn't _that_ convenient?" Kanda sneered, referring to the swimsuits they wore beneath their clothes.

Lavi's lips twitched. "Yes Yuu, those two conspired with one another to cause a plane crash and now they are reveling in the fruition of their hard work."

Lenalee smacked his arm. "Be serious."

It was then that the rest of their classmates began to pile down onto the beach with them. Timothy being one of the first suddenly piped up, "Hey! You know what I think? I—"

"I'm going to have a look around," Lavi remarked, and Lenalee nodded in agreement as she tagged along, leaving the group behind.

As they began to trek around the small airplane, Lenalee asked him, "Where do you think we are? I mean we can't be far off course… can we?"

Lavi wished he could be his usual self; to just grin and reassure her that everything would turn out just fine. But the dreaded feeling in his gut told him otherwise. "I don't know, Lenalee," he admitted, "But who knows. Maybe we were lucky enough to land where somebody will find us quick!" But as they rounded the airplane, they caught sight of the smoking engine. Lavi grimaced. "Maybe we're just lucky to be anywhere."

Expression downcast, Lenalee nodded in agreement.

Their wandering didn't last very long. It seemed that everywhere they went there was either ocean or greenery awaiting them. It got old real quick, and they soon decided to take a break, plopping down along the tree line. Down by the ocean, Daisya and Lala continued to mess around.

Lavi shook his head, unsure of whether to laugh or go down there and smack some sense into them. "Are they in denial or what?"

Thankful for the more lighthearted topic, Lenalee grinned, bumping shoulders with him. "It's weird to think you actually dated her."

"Hey! Only for about a minute!" Lavi defended himself.

She shrugged. "Whatever you say, Lavi. I mean, I guess she's just not the type of girl I see you with. You need someone to keep you grounded, otherwise Kanda will soon kill you with all those ridiculous stunts you keep pulling on him!"

"But for now, that'll be your job!" Lavi declared.

Any protests Lenalee could've made were cut off by Chomesuke's call, "Hey, come on back, cho~!" Lavi and Lenalee exchanged a glance, before rising to their feet and trekking back. Soon, everyone who'd wandered off was gathering back near the plane. "Hey, everybody, come here!" Chomesuke called once more, before turning to fret over Timothy.

"Hey, Cho!" Timothy piped up. "I was thinking—"

"Wear this," Chomesuke cut him off, placing a cap on his head. "If you get heatstroke, Mom will kill me!" Taking out another cap, she offered it to Lala, who stood nearest her.

Lala eyed the cap for a second, before shaking her head. "No, thank you," she chirped, "I want highlights!"

"Allen?" Cho offered it to the boy with the stark white hair, but Allen shook his head before shouldering his pack and stalking off.

Lavi's single eye lingered on the odd boy. Allen had joined their school only a few months ago, but throughout all that time he'd remained a recluse, even refusing Lenalee's offer of friendship. Lavi had tried talking sense into him, but Allen had only given him a scary glare before sauntering off. He gave Lavi the creeps.

Before long, everyone was gathered and sitting, the gruff pilot standing before them. Said man appeared slightly irritated as he began, "Look, um, I ain't no camp counselor."

"You're not much of a pilot, either," Kanda sneered from where he stood at the very back, but his comment rang loud and clear.

"Hey!" the pilot snapped, "I _saved_ us."

" _Yeah_ , you got the landing part down. I think your flying needs a little work though," Daisya scoffed, before wilting slightly beneath Lenalee's frightening glare.

Turning to the pilot, Lenalee demanded, "So, _where_ are we?"

"Technically, I, uh, I don't know…" he admitted, and in response, Lavi's classmates erupted into shouts, though none of their indignant demands could be heard over one another. "Whoa, whoa, _whoa_! _Easy_!" the pilot shouted above them.

Fortunately, the majority finally quieted only to hear Lala's frantic demand of, "Okay, we're not going to _be_ here that long, right?!"

"Look!" the pilot snapped once more, "The storm came out of nowhere! I _tried_ getting around it, but everywhere I turned, things just kept getting worse! I was flying blind for near _three hours_!"

"Oh? So technically you got us _lost_!" Daisya shouted back, jumping to his feet.

"I _kept_ us in the air! Then lightning hit one of the engines, and it must have torn open a fuel line!" the pilot defended himself, before grimacing and muttering loud enough for them to hear, "I had to bring her down."

The silence was penetrating, until Chomesuke finally broke it, "And the radio doesn't work, cho~?"

Waving it off, he replied, "Oh, sure it works. But it has to be in range of another radio." When he received expectant looks, he elaborated, "It isn't."

"So that means… we're _real_ lost," Lenalee realized, becoming horrified.

"But we're not going to _be_ here that long, right?" Lala repeated herself, as if it would make a difference. No one paid her any mind.

Up until now, Lavi had remained silent, listening but also lost in his own thoughts. Finally seeing his chance, Lavi suggested, "What about a homing beacon?"

When he only received puzzled gazes, the pilot stepped in and explained, "Emergency positioning radio beacons. Satellites can pinpoint their exact location."

"That's great, cho~!" Chomesuke grinned in relief.

"Yeah. We don't have one of those," the pilot pointed out bluntly.

"Are you even a pilot?" Lavi heard Allen mutter under his breath, and he couldn't help but agree.

The silence reigned once more, and the pilot could only scoff at their anxious expressions. "It's _okay_ ," he stressed, "I've been in worse messes than this." But no one seemed convinced, so he instead said, "Listen. I'm going to go inland. Look around for a little."

"What? No!" Chomesuke suddenly jumped up in protest. "We need to stay together!"

"Why?" demanded the pilot. "For all we know, there could be a resort past those trees!"

"Really?" Lala grinned. "I hope there's a Starbucks!"

"You guys," Chomesuke said anxiously, "I really think we should stay together!"

"Aw, where'd you learn that?" Daisya teased, "Girl scouts?"

Lavi stepped in. "Sorry Cho, but I really think he should go. We don't know what's out there, and this is probably our best bet of finding out."

"Oh, yeah? And what if he gets hurt?" she demanded.

Calmly, Lavi pointed out, "And what if help is just a few yards away?"

They remained at a standstill, before Rikei suddenly stood and offered, "I'll go with him."

Beside Rikei, Shifu and Lou Fa rose to their feet. "Yeah, me too," Shifu added.

"Yes, we'll be safer in a group," Lou Fa reassured Chomesuke, and so the decision was made.

* * *

"I disconnected the power, so there's no chance of fire," the pilot explained as he exited the airplane, "But don't touch nothing!"

"We're with you, sir!" Rikei saluted him mockingly, much to Lavi's amusement.

The pilot suddenly paused, eying the trio and demanding, "What's with the packs?"

"Camping," Lou Fa explained, "Who knows how long we'll be gone!"

" _I_ do. Couple hours, tops," the pilot scoffed and sauntered off. The trio followed closely after him, and stumbled to stop when he turned around and eyed them. "Now you guys are making me nervous."

"Oh uh, hey Captain Crunch!" Daisya called after the retreating group, "Can you get me a sandwich when you get the resort?"

"And a venti latte! Low fat!" Lala piped up.

"This is a bad idea," Chomesuke muttered beside him, "We should be working together, cho~."

Lavi rolled his one eye. "It's a _good_ idea. And we _are_ working together."

"Hey," Timothy popped up, "There's something you guys should know—"

"Yeah, we'll see," Chomesuke muttered darkly, appearing to not hear Timothy.

Lavi shook his head at the stubborn girl. "Yeah, we will."

* * *

 **~Lenalee~**

Feeling restless in the wake of their situation, Lenalee went looking for something to keep her hands busy while they waited for the pilot and the others to get back. Fortunately, it appeared that Chomesuke had the same idea, and together, they trekked back down to the plane and began to unload some of the camping gear, just in case they were forced to spend the night. (Though Lenalee really hoped that wasn't the case. By now, the other plane must've landed, and Komui would certainly have a panic attack if she wasn't found soon.)

As Lenalee passed Chomesuke a sleeping bag, said girl spoke up and began rambling, "Ugh, this is such a mess, cho~. Especially with everyone going off and doing their _own_ thing! Daisya and Lala think this is a vacation, Lavi refuses to so much as cooperate with me, Allen and Kanda have completely disappeared, and now the pilot and the others are gone! What if something goes _wrong_?"

"Hey," Lenalee called her attention, and waited until Cho was calm enough before explaining, "Everyone is just dealing with this in their own way, Chomesuke. Daisya and Lala haven't completely accepted the fact that we might be in more trouble than we think, and you and Lavi are so headstrong that you clash when it comes to the best of way of dealing with all of this. And I'm sure Allen and Kanda will come around as well. As for the pilot and the others, you heard them; they'll be back in a couple hours. Okay?"

Eventually, Chomesuke nodded. "And you? How are you dealing so well with this situation?"

Lenalee shook her head. "I'm not dealing well with it at all. I'm just trying my best to do something productive so that I don't drive myself crazy fretting over something that might not even become a real problem. We just have to take this one step at a time."

"But… but if it _does_ become a real problem, cho~?" Chomesuke murmured, but Lenalee didn't have an answer for her, so Chomesuke came up with one on her own. "Maybe we should have a leader… We can't… we can't be so disbanded like this, otherwise we might not survive, cho~."

Lenalee fidgeted uncomfortably, the thought of being forced to _survive_ here… it was a frightening one. But she was right. They couldn't just dig their heads in the sand, expecting for rescue to come soon when there might not even _be_ a rescue. And _that_ was an even _more_ frightening thought.

"You're right," Lenalee finally consented with a nod, as they continued to work on setting one of the tents up, up by the tree line.

"Really?" Chomesuke perked up, before taking on a determined expression. "Maybe _I_ should be the leader. What do you think Lenalee? Can I count on you?"

Lenalee pursed her lips, and as they headed down to the plane to pick up some more of the gear, another thought occurred to her. "What about the pilot?"

Chomesuke gave a bitter scoff. "Yeah right, we trusted him once and look where _that_ got us."

Lenalee wasn't willing to argue her point, and their conversation was interrupted by the sight of Lavi popping up. "Hello, ladies! So, I've been thinking that if we're going to be stuck here a while, we're going to need to find a fresh water source, as well as food! Who wants to come exploring with me?"

Though Lenalee was prepared to volunteer, Cho immediately answered, "We can't, Lavi. We're setting up camp."

"But we also need water," Lavi pointed out, and Lenalee cringed slightly. Dealing with these two in the same vicinity was bound to be troublesome.

Pointing to a nearby cooler, Chomesuke replied, "We've got _plenty_ of bottled water, cho~."

Lavi rolled his one good eye. "And what if it runs _out_?"

"Then we'll _deal_ with it," Cho snapped, "Right now, we've got to get ready to spend the night."

Lenalee finally decided to step in. "You're _both_ right. But we need to remember that this is all about cooperation. Lavi, we'll be done in a bit, and as soon as we are, I'll look for you so that we can do a search _together_ , okay?

"Whatever you say, Lenalee," Lavi nodded, and though on the surface he appeared laidback and not at all worried, Lenalee had known him along enough to know that he was irritated.

Fortunately for everyone involved, it was just as Lenalee said, and soon she was hunting Lavi down. It took a while, but she eventually spotted him up by the trees, though not too far from the shore. And… he appeared to be talking to himself?

"Hey! What are you doing?" Lenalee asked, popping up from behind a nearby tree.

"Nothing!" Lavi jumped up, snatching up a square, silver object.

Lips quirking up in amusement, she asked, "Do you still need help looking for water?"

"Of course I do, Lena-Lady!" Lavi grinned.

"I can _still_ see the camera, Lavi," Lenalee pointed out, curiously eyeing said object clenched in one of the redhead's hands.

Sheepishly, Lavi rubbed the back of his head. "It was just an idea, but I thought I should record my side of what's going on. You know, just case we're stuck here for longer than expected. Plus, if they do find us, it'll totally make me famous!"

"Wow, maybe I will too!" Lenalee decided, snatching up the camera.

Lavi nodded. "The case for the camera should hold clean tapes." The redhead then paused and turned to face her, expression serious. "So, I was thinking that considering our situation, maybe we should have a leader, and I think it should be me. Can I count on you?"

Now those words were a little _too_ familiar.

Lenalee sighed, expression tired. "You were eavesdropping on Cho and I, weren't you?"

Completely unashamed, Lavi grinned and nodded. "Yep!"

"And now you're just doing this to get back at her?"

"You know me so well, Lena-Lady!" Lavi exclaimed, tossing an arm around her.

Lenalee shook her head in disappointment, but she knew that when Lavi got an idea into his head, there was no stopping him, not matter how life threatening. "You're awful."

"Truer words have never been spoken!"

* * *

 **~Chomesuke~**

Wasn't it enough that she was one of the few out of all her classmates to have common sense, cho~? Wasn't it enough that not only did she have to worry about herself and all those boneheads, as well as the pilot running off with some of her classmates, but that she also had to worry about her little brother? Wasn't it enough that this whole trip, the one that she had been looking forward to, had turned into an absolute nightmare?

No, it apparently wasn't enough, cho~!

"What do you think you're _doing_ , cho~?!" she demanded, stalking up to Daisya.

Daisya gave her an odd look, only causing her to become even more irritated. "What does it look like?" he shrugged, waving the small, silver package. "Lunch!"

"You can't!" Chomesuke protested, "That has to last!"

"Till when? Dinner?" Daisya scoffed, ripping open the package. "Give me a break."

"Forget it!" Chomesuke decided, snatching it away. "Nobody eats until we figure out how to ration it, cho~!"

"Ration? Are you kidding me?!" Daisya demanded. "Rescue is going to be here in no time! This is practically vacation time till then!"

" _No_ ," Chomesuke stressed, "This is _survival_!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Daisya shook his head. "And who put _you_ in charge?!"

Before Chomesuke could continue to argue, she noticed someone else following Daisya's example, and taking another package. It was the weird kid with the white hair. Ignoring Daisya for the time being, she chased after him, calling, "Hey! _Hey_! You can't eat that! Allen! Allen! We've got to _share_!" But despite her protests, Allen had already disappeared. Ugh!

"Hey, this tastes pretty good," Daisya suddenly stepped up beside her, picking food from the open package she must've dropped back into the bin. "It's some sort of chicken or something."

"I'm starved! What is that?" Lala suddenly appeared.

Great! Just what she needed! Even more numbskulls to deal with!

"It's camp food," Daisya replied around a mouthful, "They've got a ton of it!"

"Okay, gross?" Lala muttered, wrinkling her dainty nose, before touching her rumbling tummy, "But whatever."

"Uh, _no_!" Chomesuke butted in, "We've got to _ration_ it!"

And just what she needed. More people to show up. "Hey, what's going on? Nobody invited us to the party!" Lavi exclaimed, as he and Lenalee joined the gathering group.

"Cho is trying to starve us!" Daisya suddenly accused her.

"I am _not_ , cho~!" she glared at him. "We've got to conserve food!"

"Says who?!" Lala demanded.

Lavi shook his head. "She's right, Daisya. It's for the best."

Feeling utterly overwhelmed and on the verge of breaking down, she snapped, "I don't _need_ your help!"

Lavi blinked. "Calm down, I was just backing you up."

"I… I don't _need_ backup," she insisted, feeling frantic, feeling as if everyone was closing in on her.

"Uh, Lavi, you aren't in charge here!" Lala pointed out, her irritation reaching its peaking point.

"Uh, _nobody's_ in charge here!" Daisya added.

"Can I please say something?" Timothy suddenly piped up. Where had he even come from?!

"Well you know what? Somebody's got to take the lead!" Lavi insisted.

Right! That's what she was aiming for! Leadership! Frustrated, Chomesuke pointed out, "I've been setting up camp _all day_!"

"Camp?!" Lala demanded. "But we're not going to _be_ here that long!"

"You guys, we shouldn't argue!" Lenalee said, though it was to no avail.

"This is really important!" Timothy shouted.

But the group only descended into chaos as they shouted over one another in their effort to be heard. Chomesuke could feel the headache forming with an acute pressure on her forehead, and she was once again ready to break down.

 _Thud!_

Everyone paused, wide-eyed as they gaped at the sharp, silver katana that had landed in the center of their circle.

"Okay… _scary_ …" Lala muttered, and Cho couldn't help but agree with her.

"Now that you've all shut the fuck up," Kanda snarled, regular scowl in place, "Would you all listen to the kid?"

Slightly astonished, Chomesuke turned to her kid brother as Timothy exclaimed, "Thanks!" Turning to them, the nine-year-old boy scoffed, "It's about time! Sheesh! _Anyway_ , what I've been trying to tell you, you bunch of boneheads, is that the tide is coming in!"

"Yeah, that's _so_ interesting," Daisya grumbled, but once he was on the receiving end of Kanda's glared, he quickly muttered, "But continue."

Timothy shook his head. "If you can't figure out the rest for yourselves, it means that—"

"That the plane will float away!" Lavi realized, almost face-palming.

"Bingo," Timothy grumbled.

"But we have everything on there!" Lenalee pointed out. "Our gear, the first aid kits, and all the tools! And it's also what the search plane will be looking for!"

"And the storm we flew through is only going to make it worse," Chomesuke added with a grimace, feeling absolutely dreadful. Had she really been so caught up in her own worries that she hadn't even bothered to pay attention to her brother? It had taken _Kanda_ of all people that got her to listen!

"But we're not even going to _be_ here that long, right?" Lala remarked for the umpteenth time. No one bothered to reply, and she demanded, " _Right_?!" Instead, they all exchanged nervous glances, and Lala added, "So _what_ if we lose the plane? It's not like it flies anymore."

Timothy shook his head in protest. "We really have to do _something_!"

 _Get it together Chomesuke_ , she rebuked herself, before stepping up and asking, "How much time do you guys think we have?"

After a moment of observing the waters, Lenalee predicted, "Maybe an hour at most."

"An _hour_?!" Daisya demanded, before turning an accusing eye on Timothy. "Why didn't you say anything _before_?!"

Timothy's eyes narrowed. "That's a _joke_ , right?"

Fortunately for Cho's fraying nerves, Lavi stepped up as well and told her, "I'll try to save the plane, if _you_ get everything out while you still have time!"

Not wasting a second, Chomesuke pointed towards Lala and Lenalee. "You and you, come with me!" Before hurrying off, she begged Lavi, " _Hurry_!"

Chomesuke didn't miss Lala's comment of, "Kind of bossy, isn't she?"

But she didn't have time to dwell on that, and Lavi hurried Lala along. Once they reached the other side of the plane, she commanded the two other girls, "Start with the water! Then the food! Then the camping gear!"

"What? No way! I have such bad memories of this place," Lala protested, eyeing the doorway of the plane.

Not in the mood for Lala's ridiculous ideas, Cho snapped, "If you don't get moving, I'll give you _more_!"

That set her into motion. Together, the three girls began to run back and forth across the beach, lugging out all the supplies stored inside.

* * *

 **~Allen~**

Even from where he sat, Allen could hear the commotion going on down by the plane. He briefly contemplated not bothering to get involved, but if something serious was going on, it'd probably be best not to avoid it. So with a grimace, Allen rose to his feet and trekked down, arriving just in time to see the crazy Asian dude with the sword getting involved. Oh joy.

Fortunately, by then they'd calmed down enough to listen to reason. And from a kid of all people! But as Allen continued to take note of the problem at hand, he now knew there was no choice but to get involved in order to help. That plane was not only their best chance of getting rescued, but it was also probably the best shelter they'd find around here.

Allen didn't have to volunteer himself though.

As soon as the girls had run off, the tall redhead spotted him and called, "Hey, shortstack!" Allen's hands fisted, but he didn't comment on the ridiculous nickname as the redhead continued, "If you heard all that, we could really use your help!"

Sauntering down the rest of the way, Allen nodded and said once he stood beside them, "Alright, I'll help."

"Whoa!" Daisya suddenly gasped, "He spoke! Another _crazy_ twist!"

"Knock it off!" Kanda scowled, punching him in the head.

"Ouch! Okay, sheesh man!" Daisya snapped.

"Okay, listen up," Lavi called their attention, "Here's what we're going to do! We'll have to secure the plane so that it doesn't float away! Timothy, go through the camping gear on the plane and see if you can find us some rope. The rest of us, we'll go and search for vines in the jungle that we can use. Let's go!"

Considering the way his classmates had been acting towards each other up until now, Allen was slightly astonished by the way they actually worked together. Then again, the situation _was_ quite severe. Not that it kept his shock at bay. But soon, after running around, they gathered back at the sight of the crash with a pile of vines.

"I'm already sick of this place!" Daisya grumbled, " _Please_ tell me these are enough!"

With a frown, Timothy reached down, and with a small grunt, managed to snap one of the vines in half. "Uh, guys, I don't think these are strong enough…"

"I can fix that!" Lenalee exclaimed as she passed by and quickly set a plastic bin down. Seizing three different vines, she began to skillfully braid them. "See? Home Ec wasn't useless!"

"What's so special? I've been braiding since I was two," Lala gasped, setting down her own bin.

"Then you're up!" Lavi handed her the vines.

And because Allen was completely useless when it came to braiding, he instead grabbed the rope Timothy had found for them, and with Lavi's help, tied each piece onto the wings of the plane. It was more difficult than expected, considering that by then, the waves were crashing against his legs, pushing him down. But they got it done, and soon after, the braided vines had been tied onto a chain that was hooked to the nose of the plane.

"Ready?!" Chomesuke shouted once they were all gripping either a rope or vine. "Now _pull_!"

"No, wait! It's too heavy!" Lenalee protested. "Wait till it floats!"

"Isn't that what we _don't_ want?!" Daisya demanded.

"O-ouch!" Lala cried, as the rope burned into her hand. "I don't think I can hold on much longer!"

"Are you sure about this?!" Chomesuke asked Lenalee.

"Wait! Just wait!" Lenalee insisted, and Allen was getting ready to pull out some real snarky comments as his muscles protested.

"Wait for _what_?!" Cho asked.

" _That_!" Lenalee pointed at the sweeping waves that suddenly crashed in and lifted the airplane. "Pull, _now_!"

As they did, the plane suddenly began to move up, and that was the boost they needed to haul the enormous piece of machinery closer to the tree line.

"We… we did it!"

Allen was surprised to find himself joining in the celebration, brief as it was. Of course, even after all their hard work, Lala found it in herself to point out, "That was a total waste!"

Incredulous, Lavi demanded, "Saving the plane was a total waste?!"

"Well, duh," Lala snapped, repeating her favorite catchphrase, "It's not like we're going to be here that long, right? _Right_?"

Allen shook his head with a small scoff. "Why don't you ask _them_?"

Everyone quickly jumped up when they noticed the pilot and their other classmates arriving. But whatever excitement they might've had was thwarted by the pilot's careless comment of, "Get nice and comfy kids, 'cause there ain't no resort in _that_ jungle."

* * *

 **A/N:** Phew! And that's a wrap! Hope everyone liked the first chapter! And I'm sorry, I know Allen isn't too involved yet, but he will be soon enough! Please, please let me know your thoughts in a review!^-^

By the way, this isn't even the end of the first day! Heh, our characters have a lot more in store waiting for them, so stay tuned!(;


	3. Light It Up

**A/N:** A big thank you to **jy24** , **Lol** , **Ennael** , **Alice2795** , **The Mirror Above the Sink** , and **Pikaree1** (x2) for taking the time to review!^-^

Here's part two of Day 1! Enjoy!

* * *

 **Disclaimer** **:** Still don't own anything.

* * *

Chapter 2

* * *

 **Day 1**

* * *

 **—3rd Person POV—**

 **~Chomesuke~**

Even after the first few hours of exploring the pilot and her classmates had done earlier that morning, they were still set on the idea of searching the rest of the island. And it made Cho nervous. The one grownup they had with them, and the first idea to pop into his head was to go gallivanting off and possibly getting himself and her classmates killed! What if rescue really did come and they got themselves even more lost than they _already_ were? The feeling in her gut told her it was a terrible idea, but all she could do was watch as they prepared themselves.

"Kids! Heads up!" the pilot called as he began pulling out the silver packages of freeze dried food. "I want you to make room for these."

Lou Fa paused in organizing her gear and eyeing the packages that had been given to her, she asked, "Is this meat?"

"Yeah," replied the pilot, handing the rest out to Rikei and Shifu.

"I'm a _vegan_ ," Lou Fa pointed out.

The pilot paused and gazed at her strangely. "A _who_?"

"I don't eat meat," she clarified.

Incredulous, the pilot huffed, "Really now? Well _I_ don't eat any vegetables! So what does that make _me_?"

Lifting her eyebrows, Lou Fa suggested, "A _meathead_?"

The pilot nodded, "Touché."

And as amusing as the exchange had been, Chomesuke couldn't find it in herself to smile. Maybe she should attempt to dissuade them one last time? Mind made up, Cho stepped forward, and spoke up, "This is wrong, cho~. We should stay _together_."

"One more time!" the pilot replied, holding a finger up and turning towards her. "The island is _huge_. There could be a weather station or a camp or a fancy resort on the north shore. And we could sit here and twiddle our thumbs from now until doomsday, and _nobody_ would come looking for us. So we go."

Out loud, the argument may have sounded compelling, but internally, Chomesuke sincerely doubted that that was the case. But of course, Lavi felt the need to speak up as well, "It's _okay_ , Chomesuke. The trek shouldn't take them long, and they've got enough supplies to last them a while. They'll be _fine_. And we _have_ to know what's on the island."

His goofy grin only served to irritate her more. "Yeah? Well maybe they should at least wait until _tomorrow_ ," Chomesuke pointed out. Because by now, the airport _had_ to know that they were lost, and maybe by then, rescue would be able to locate them.

The pilot shook his head. "We've only got a couple hours of sun left. Sitting around still makes me nervous."

"Splitting up makes _me_ nervous, cho~," she grumbled.

"How long are you going to be, Cap?" Lavi asked.

The pilot shook his head. "I have no idea. Covering this place could take days."

" _Days_?!" Chomesuke demanded, brow furrowing into an anxious frown. "What if a rescue plane shows up and you guys are out there, lost some place?!"

"Then we'll look for them," Lavi assured her, but it did nothing to ease her anxiety.

"Listen, missy," the pilot began, "I don't want to scare you, but we're _so_ far off course, there's no chance any plane will be buzzing around any time soon."

Chomesuke grew cold with dread. "So it's true, cho~? We're going to be stuck here a while?"

"Unfortunately, yes," the pilot admitted, "And we've got to do something before the food runs out and we start losing our strength."

"I-I thought you didn't want to scare me, cho~!" she stammered.

Lavi was suddenly gripping her shoulders firmly, staring her down intently with his single, forest green eye. "Chomesuke, you _need_ to pull yourself together," he warned her. "The others don't yet know that rescue won't be coming anytime soon, and we can't let them know, so you need to calm down before they start asking questions."

"W-what? But… but they _have_ to know, cho~!" she exclaimed. What was Lavi thinking?! "They _have_ to start taking this seriously!"

"And I agree," Lavi nodded, finally releasing her and taking a step back. "But if they also lose hope, they'll only freak out like _you're_ freaking out, the difference being that most of that lot doesn't exactly have much common sense. Or am I wrong?"

"No, you're not, cho~," she agreed with a sigh, eyes downcast. _This is a lot worse than I first thought. And even if Lavi is right, it's not like the others are going to quit messing around, cho~,_ she thought with an annoyed tick. "Hey—" she cut herself off, realizing that that the pilot and her classmates had disappeared. "Huh? Where did they go?"

"I believe they've headed off that way," Lavi pointed towards their direction with a cheerful grin.

"Eh?!" Chomesuke quickly chased after them. "W-wait up!" Sand kicked up as she sprinted forward, and a minute later she managed to catch up with a gasp. "Hey! While you're gone, someone's got to be in charge. You're the only adult around here, so please appoint someone!"

Turning to the rest of her classmates, who'd gathered by the tree line in order to wish them luck, the pilot clasped his hands and asked, "Okay, kiddies! Who wants to be the big boss?"

 _Seriously? That's the approach he's taking, cho~?_ Chomesuke couldn't help but think with a palm to her face, but nonetheless, she stepped forward and volunteered. And much to her misfortune, so did Lavi. "Oh?!" the pilot mocked, " _Big_ surprise! Why don't you two fight it out, huh? May the best dork or dorkette win!" And so, the pilot marched off laughing.

"Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines," Chomesuke heard Daisya snicker as she pulled Lavi aside.

"What do you think you're doing, cho~?" she hissed, "Can't you take anything seriously?"

"Course I can!" Lavi grinned, before his expression sobered and he whispered back, "Look, I could care less about the whole leadership thing, but look at this way, keep up the random drama and it'll keep everyone else distracted from the real problems at hand."

"But that's the opposite of what I'm _trying_ to do, cho~!" she huffed, before giving up on him completely and turning the rest of her classmates, "Alright guys, listen up! We're going to have to get to work if we plan on spending the night, cho~."

"And the first thing we need to do is start a signal fire," Lavi butted in, "It'll give us heat, light—"

"Wait! Light?!" Lala cut him off. "We're not going to be here when it's dark, are we?" No one answered her. " _Are_ we?!" she demanded.

Chomesuke shook her head and instead continued, "Fire's important, but if we're going to spend the night, we've also got to make camp somewhere that's safe."

"But didn't you hear me?! I'm _not_ spending the night here!" Lala cried and stalked off.

Staring after her, Daisya wondered, "Is there any chance she's _not_ as clueless as we think?" Nobody even bothered answering that.

"Timothy, come help me with finding us a campsite," Chomesuke ordered.

"Uh, okay," he muttered.

"Lenalee, you too," she decided.

"How many people do you _need_?" Lavi huffed.

Chomesuke frowned, but before she could make a scathing remark, Lenalee suddenly stepped in, hands on her hips and a firm scowl in place. "Alright, that's _enough_! You two need to quit it with all this bickering! It's the last thing we need." Of course, when Lenalee was upset, she could make a scary sight, so Cho and Lavi were quick to nod in agreement. "Good!" Lenalee nodded, and then waved them away. "Now go and find us a campsite. We'll worry about starting up a fire."

"But—"

" _Go_ ," Lenalee stressed, giving them the stink eye.

"Yes, ma'am!" Lavi saluted, before grabbing Chomesuke by the arm and successfully dragging her off. "Don't burn down the jungle!" he called back helpfully.

"Why does it feel like this was your plan all along, cho~?" she grumbled, stumbling after Lavi as she tried not to trip over roots and trenches.

"How could you ever think that of me, Cho?" Lavi gasped, but the beam he tossed her over his shoulder was far from innocent.

"Whatever," she muttered, before pausing and tugging her arm away from Lavi's grasp. "It's this way," she told him, "I was checking the place out earlier and found a clearing that I think might be perfect for making camp."

"After you, my lady," Lavi teased, and Chomesuke could only curse the fact that he drove her absolutely insane.

* * *

 **~Lenalee~**

After watching Lavi and Chomesuke disappear, she turned to her other classmates, only to find that Kanda and Allen had both already vanished, just as Lala had done, leaving her with only Daisya and Timothy. Well this certainly lowered her options. She was unsure as to how approach Allen, and if Kanda didn't want to be found, she'd only waste her time searching for him. "Okay," she decided, "Daisya, you can help me look for some firewood."

"Gee, can I? I'll get right on that," he agreed lazily.

Narrowing her eyes, she whispered ominously, " _Daisya_ …"

"Joking!" he exclaimed, jumping to his feet and turning to her.

"Thank you," she smiled, and turned towards the younger boy, "Timothy, could you please go through the camping gear and search to see if we have any matches?"

"Okay," Timothy chirped, before skipping off.

"Man, what is it with Cho and Lavi?" Daisya wondered as they ventured into the forest, arms folded casually behind his head. "They're acting weirder than usual."

Spotting a fallen branch, Lenalee crouched down and picked it up. "I'm not really sure. Cho seems even more anxious than before, though I'm uncertain as to what could have caused it. Lavi's probably just trying to ease the tension to keep her from having a meltdown."

"He's not doing a particularly good job of it," Daisya huffed, and followed her example of picking up fallen branches.

Lenalee frowned and pointed out, "You haven't exactly done much good yourself, Daisya."

Daisya pursed his lips in thought and shrugged. "Yeah, I know I've been an ass. Sorry about that, but I honestly thought that rescue would've shown up by now. But the day's almost over, and _nothing_! And excuse the fact that I sound like Lala, but do you think we'll _be_ here that long?"

"Honestly, Daisya? I don't know," she admitted, the dreaded fear gripping her heart like a cold fist. "But I really hope not."

A stilted silence descended upon them, until Daisya finally pointed out with a huff, "Uh, Lenalee, I think we have enough."

With a start, Lenalee finally took note of the heavy branches weighing down both their arms. "Err, right! Come on, let's head back," she decided. They swiftly trekked back, and with a sigh of relief, dumped the pile of branches near the tents Chomesuke and she had set up earlier that morning.

"Now what?" Daisya wondered.

"I'm going to look for Timothy and see if he's had any luck finding a pack of matches!" she called as she jogged off. Of course, she should've realized that it would only give Daisya an open window to run off, but it was too late. "Timothy?" she called through the bins and packs of camp gear and food.

"Hey, Lenalee!" Timothy greeted back, randomly popping out from behind a pile of sleeping bags.

She startled slightly, before turning to him and asking, "Any luck?"

Unfortunately, Timothy shook his head. "Sorry Lena, but there's so much. I mean, I've searched through just about anything, but haven't spotted any matches…"

Lenalee sighed, but she couldn't blame him. "Don't suppose you know how to start a fire, huh?" she wondered.

But to her surprise, Timothy perked up. "Not that I can guarantee anything," the nine-year-old began, "But mom _did_ make me join boy scouts. I didn't pay much attention to when our instructor taught us how to light a fire, but I could _try_."

Lenalee offered him an encouraging smile. "Well, Daisya and I already gathered up a bunch of firewood. Why don't you go on up and give it your best shot? I'll stay here and keep searching through the gear. Maybe we'll get lucky!"

"Sounds good to me!" Timothy nodded, and then nodded over to all the equipment towards his right, "I've already checked that whole side, so you can pick up from here."

"Got it!" Lenalee nodded, waving him off, before turning the rest of the pile and shoving her sleeves up to her elbows, with a silent prayer for good luck.

* * *

 **~Daisya~**

Figuring that after all the grunt work, the process of using matches would be a no-brainer, Daisya headed back down to the beach with a towel in hand. Spotting Lala sunbathing down near the waves, he headed in her direction and laid his towel beside hers. Stripping himself of his shirt and sandals, he plopped down onto his towel and relaxed back. And it was nice and quiet, until Lala opened her mouth.

"Is Lenalee finally done bossing you around?" she huffed, without opening her eyes.

Daisya rolled his eyes. "She just needed some help, was all. But yeah."

"Hm, whatever," she mumbled.

"Mhmm," Daisya hummed, relieved once silence reigned again. Eventually, he propped himself unto his elbows, and curiously eyed the lapping waves and beyond, towards the expansive waters. The blue seemed never ending, with the sky and ocean blending into different shades of bright blues. And nothing in the horizon. Not a single boat or airplane. Not even a damn cloud!

"What are you looking at?" Lala suddenly piped up, peeking an eye open.

 _What do you_ think _?_ Daisya internally scoffed, but on the surface he simply shrugged and in basic terms, replied, "Water. Lots of water. No rescue boats. No airplanes. Nothing. Just a _whole_ lot of wet."

"You know, Daisya," Lala sat up and remarked, "You're the only one I trust here."

His eyebrows shot up, and without bothering to glance in her direction, he countered dubiously, " _Really_?"

"Sure!" she chirped, "Because you're _smart_. While everyone else is running around and pretending to be important, you're sitting here, saving your strength. That's _very_ clever."

 _Is this girl_ serious _?!_ Daisya mentally wondered, but continued to play along. "I thought so," he nodded, successfully managing to keep a straight face.

"When we get back, I can _definitely_ see us hanging out," Lala continued, her lips twitching into a small smirk.

Now this caught Daisya's attention. "Seriously?" he turned towards her. "Oh, man! I've been wanting to ask you out ever since that one day in chorus when you fainted! You were all sweaty…"

"Okay, creepy," Lala wrinkled her nose, "But whatever. We _need_ to rely on each other."

And then, Daisya once again recalled her game. Turning back to lie down on his towel, he nodded. "Oh yeah, _absolutely_ ," he agreed, scoffing internally.

"We _think_ the same way!"

"Oh, I agree _completely_ ," he agreed, holding back a snicker.

"And _I_ think," she tacked on, "That you should go over to that plane and get us some waters."

"Done!" Daisya automatically went along with it before he fully processed her suggestion. He blinked. _Damn, she actually got me! What a manipulative, little…_ Thoughts shaken away in the face of her expectations, Daisya simply backtracked, "Uh, sorry, no-can-do. Cho would _freak_!"

"Oh. _Her_ ," Lala remarked, expression forming into an ugly scowl that made Daisya slightly nervous. "But I'm _thirsty_. And you wouldn't want to see me faint again. Or _would_ you?"

"Um, no, conscious is good!" Daisya chuckled with an uneasy smile.

"Perfect! Make sure it's chilled!" Lala chirped, and settled back down on her towel.

For a moment, Daisya could only gape. Eventually, he got up with a huff and pulled on his shirt and sandals before he trekked over to the airplanes feeling slightly incredulous. _Damn, if Cho catches wind of this, I'm so dead… But it's just a water or two. What could be the harm?_

And to his non-existent luck, Daisya found Lenalee to already be taking residence among all the gear scattered beside the airplane. He snuck forward, praying that she might not take notice of him, but instead, the opposite occurred. As soon as she saw him, she began to rant, "Daisya, can you believe it?! All this camping gear and I've yet to find a single pack of matches!"

"Ooh, sorry to hear that, Lenalee," he shrugged helplessly, subtly snatching up two water bottles, before he began to back up. "I wish you all the luck in the world!"

"Thanks," Lenalee sighed, before narrowing her eyes suspiciously. "Daisya, what do you think you're _doing_?"

With a sheepish smile, he replied, "Um, nothing?"

Rising to her feet, Lenalee admonished, "Daisya, you can't take the drinking water. Chomesuke hasn't even figured out how to ration it yet!"

"Tell that to Lala," he huffed, "She claims that if she doesn't have any water now, she's going to _faint_."

Lenalee shook her head, and muttered, "I don't believe this."

"Yeah," Daisya rolled his eyes, "That makes two of us."

But before their argument could continue any further, a distant scream tore through their brief silence, causing them to exchange a wide-eyed glance.

* * *

 **~Lavi~**

Ten minutes of uphill trekking, and Lavi was already exhausted and sticky with sweat. "Can we take a break? _Please_?" he pleaded, wiping the gathering sweat on his brow with an arm. And much to his surprise, Chomesuke actually came to a halt.

"Sure," she nodded, and gestured towards the spacious clearing before them, "We're here, cho~."

"Um, where?" Lavi asked absentmindedly, licking his dry lips and wishing he'd brought a water bottle along.

"Camp?" Cho replied, tossing him an odd glance. "Like I said, I checked this place out earlier. I think it's perfect, cho~! What do you think?"

Somewhat startled that she was actually asking his opinion, Lavi took a closer look, and internally cringed, knowing she wouldn't like his response. With a hesitant smile, he began to explain to her, "Well, you see Cho, we're going to still want to be close beach, only just high enough to be safe from high tide." And when it appeared that she wasn't catching onto his implications, he begin to tack on in a nervous ramble, "And, uh, we want to be protected from the rain, of course, but still have enough sunlight so that none of our equipment gets moldy. And oh! There's also the chance of wild animals—"

"Alright, _stop_!" Chomesuke exclaimed. "I don't want a _lecture_ here, okay? Is this spot good or not, cho~?"

" _Well_ ," Lavi smiled sheepishly before simply stating, "No."

Features morphing into the beginning of a scowl, Chomesuke plopped down by a tree and demanded, "Then where do you think we should set up camp?"

"Back in the airplane," Lavi shrugged, though despite his casual appearance, he was a bit tenser of her reaction on the inside.

"Ugh," she groaned, "Why didn't you say something _before_?"

"I tried," he pointed out.

"I still think this place is perfect, cho~," she repeated stubbornly. "I mean, it's got tree cover, but the sun still comes through. And it's big enough for a couple tents, yet it's protected against the wind!"

"Maybe," Lavi shrugged. He could think up about a dozen counterarguments, but he knew none of that would convince Cho that she was wrong.

"What's your problem?" Chomesuke huffed, "It seemed cooler than out by the beach. It's because the ground is really damp, cho~."

"And that's one of the many problems," the redhead pointed out, "We don't _want_ to live on damp ground."

Chomesuke frowned. "And why _not_?"

"Things _live_ in damp ground," he clarified briefly.

Eyes widening, she sat up and asked, "Really? Like what?"

"Like—" Single eye bugging out, Lavi cut himself off as he caught sight of the underneath of Cho's leg and choked out, "Like _that_!"

"Ahh!" she shouted, freaked out as she eyed the giant, black worm attached to her leg. "What _is_ that?!" she demanded.

"Don't freak out!" Lavi chuckled nervously, frantically waving his hands. "It's only a leech!"

" _Only_?!" she shrieked, "It's _disgusting_! Is it venomous?!"

"No!" Lavi shook his head. "All they do is suck your blood."

" _Lavi_!"

"It's okay, it's only _one_!" Lavi tried assuring her. "How much blood could it possibly get?"

But Chomesuke lifted her leg, only to reveal about a dozen more leeches fixed onto her leg.

Single eye practically popping out, Lavi muttered, "Oooh. _That's_ not good."

With a shrill scream, Chomesuke jumped to her feet and ran off in a futile attempt to dislodge them. "Huh? Oh! Chomesuke, wait up!" Lavi shouted, racing after her. Considering she was attempting to shake her leg while running simultaneously, he was able to catch up to her pretty quickly, and managed to bring her to a halt. "Calm down!"

"Pull them off! Pull them off, cho~!" she cried.

"No! If a piece gets stuck on your skin, it might get infected," Lavi tried to explain as patiently as possibly, though it was difficult to get her to understand while she was freaking out.

"Then what do I _do_?!" she demanded hysterically.

"Um, there's a couple ways to get rid of them," Lavi recalled, "We could touch them with something hot, like a burning stick, and they should fall right off."

"Yeah, I'm fresh out of those, cho~!" she shouted at him.

"Um," Lavi racked his brain, "Well, there _is_ an easier way…" _But you're not going to like it._

"Well tell me, cho~!"

"As soon as they get their fill of blood, they'll drop off," Lavi admitted.

And just as he'd predicted, Chomesuke once again shrieked her head off and ran off again. "H-hey! Wait up!" Lavi called after her, but by the time he'd caught up with her, she'd already broken the tree line and thrown herself into the ocean. "Chomesuke?!"

To his immense relief, she soon came back out and demanded, "Are they gone?!"

With a cringe, Lavi admitted, "Actually, I think I see a couple more…"

"What do I do?!" Cho cried.

"Maybe if they got the fire started, we can burn them off," he suggested.

And once again, he was off chasing after her.

* * *

 **~Allen~**

So far, Allen thought he'd done a spectacular job of ignoring the current drama of his classmates. (At least, he assumed it was drama, going by the screams he could faintly hear through his blasting music.) After the pilot and three of his classmate had disappeared for the second time that day, Allen had gone and ducked into the airplane, slouching down in one of the seats and plugging in his headphones. Everyone else was so obsessed with needing to fix, or at least improve, the current situation, that he figured he wasn't needed. And it's not like he particularly cared if they got rescued or not. Either way, his life was pretty shitty.

Not that any of those rich kids would have a clue.

So Allen just kicked back and paid more attention to his music. He was on the verge of dozing off, when someone suddenly sat on the back entrance of the airplane, behind him. Rubbing away the sleep from his eyes, he glanced through his peripherals, and recognized that it was Lenalee, the overly sweet girl who'd tried to befriend him a few months ago. As kind as the gesture had been, Allen knew he'd be gone soon anyway, and hadn't bothered to lead her on.

Removing his headphones, Allen heard her mutter, "Ugh, I had one job, and I completely failed! How can I fix this?"

"What's the big deal? It's not like anyone else is doing any better," Allen huffed with a discreet roll of his eyes.

Lenalee gave a startled gasp, having not noticed him, before slumping down with a resigned sigh. "Maybe not, but at least one of us should be useful. How are we going to survive otherwise?"

 _I'm so going to regret this_ , Allen thought, before asking, "What's the problem?"

"We haven't been able to get the fire started. Timothy and I already searched through all the camp gear, but we haven't been able to locate a single pack of matches, and doing it by hand hasn't proved much luck either. And now Chomesuke is infected with leeches, and we need a fire in order to burn them off," she explained quietly.

Allen hummed thoughtfully.

"Do you… do you think you could help us out?" she ventured to ask, much to his surprise.

Allen shrugged. "What the hell, I guess," he allowed, and Lenalee grinned in relief as he followed after her.

Considering it wouldn't cost him much effort, Allen didn't fight it too hard. Once they got to their current campsite, he saw that it was Daisya currently attempting to start the fire through Timothy's guidance.

"You need to rub the stick back and forth real fast until it gets hot enough to ignite the kindling," he was explaining, though it wasn't doing much for Daisya.

"Everyone! Allen's here to help!" Lenalee announced happily.

"Um, hey," Allen waved.

"Please tell me you've got a solution!" Chomesuke begged with a cry, before indicating the leeches on her leg. "Because they're getting fat. With _my_ blood!"

"Um, ew," Allen couldn't help but cringe.

"It's all _yours_!" Daisya exclaimed, hopping up and shoving the stick into his hands.

"Gee, how thoughtful," Allen muttered, before carelessly dropping it to the ground and stepping over to crouch by the readied firewood. Shoving a hand into his pocket, Allen casually dug out his lighter, and with a flick of his fingers, ignited the kindling. "There you go," he deadpanned.

Everyone gaped.

"All this time…" Daisya trailed off with a scowl.

* * *

 **~Chomesuke~**

"Perfect! This won't hurt a bit… I think," she heard Lavi mutter from behind her.

"Careful! Careful, cho~!" Chomesuke gasped, feeling the heat of the burning stick nearing her leg.

"Piece of cake!" the redhead reassured her.

"That is _so_ incredibly ick," Lala muttered, sitting beside her.

Chomesuke huffed and grumbled, "How do you think _I_ feel about it, cho~?"

Instead of answering, Lala asked, "Did you guys find a campsite?"

"Sure," Chomesuke replied with a roll of her eyes, "If you don't mind sleeping on a giant colony of bloodsucking vampire worms. Why do _you_ care?" After all, it had been Lala who couldn't accept the fact that rescue wasn't coming.

With a defeated expression, the blonde girl admitted, "Because whether I like it or not, we're spending the night."

* * *

 **A/N:** Where is Kanda, you may ask? Probably up on the mountain, meditating. I'm not joking. He's literally stuck on a deserted island with people he hates. Can you blame the guy? But don't worry, he'll show up eventually.(x

Please review!(:


	4. Uniting Under One

**A/N:** Phew! I finally got this chapter done! :D And thank you so much to **Alice2795** , **jy24** , **pikaree1** , **karina001** , **waterlit** , **DontMindMe1234** , **The Mirror Above the Sink** , **Guest** , and **WinterYule** (x2) for all taking the time to review! Ahh! I loved reading them, so I really appreciate it!:3 Love you guys!

Enjoy~!

* * *

 **Disclaimer** **:** Still no! XP

* * *

Chapter 3

* * *

 **Day 2**

* * *

 **—3rd Person POV—**

 **~Kanda**

Birdsongs came in lulls and bursts, harmonizing with the constant buzzing of cicadas and the rustling of animals rooting in the underbrush. The wind whistled and brought with it the scent of wet earth, and the trickle of running water in a nearby brook had the same hypnotic quality as music. Kanda drank it in and took another deep breath; the air was rich with the fragrance of leaves and loam. The dappled light landed on his features in warm shafts, and though the peace was unbreakable, there was still an uneasy feeling tugging at his gut.

Brow furrowing in confusion, Kanda paused in his meditation and wondered why he felt so ill at ease. His stomach was full with the fruits he'd picked (and despite their unpleasant sweetness, it had filled him), his katana lay safely at his side, and there was no one nearby to disrupt his peace. The rest of his idiot classmates were miles away… His _classmates_.

"Fuck," Kanda sighed, serene expression twisting into his standard scowl. No way. _No way_ was he the slightest bit worried for that lot. Nope. Kanda would simply continue to pretend they didn't exist and return to his meditation… But the sliver of concern kept poking at him like a relentless needle. Which didn't make any sense, because he was pretty fucking sure that the neurotic chick (Chomesuke?), the idiot rabbit, and Lenalee would do a fine job of keeping the rest in check and making sure no one accidentally killed and/or ate each other. They didn't _need_ his help.

It seemed though, that he apparently _did_ have a conscious, because it had finally found its way to the forefront of his mind in order to fuck with him.

But Kanda was also extremely stubborn.

"Fuck _that_ ," he groused, and returned to his meditating.

* * *

 **~Lenalee~**

It was their second day on the island, and _very_ early in the morning, and already Kanda had disappeared while the rest of her classmates bickered. It was _way_ too early for this.

Rubbing away the grit from her eyes, Lenalee tiredly observed her classmates—Daisya was glancing around, probably sleepy and confused as to why they were still here; Lala was whining while dragging a comb through her tangled curls; Timothy's snores could still be heard from one of the tents; Lavi was teasing and causing Chomesuke to turn red with anger, while said girl went around and distributed a small breakfast of macaroni and cheese; last but not least, Allen was stoking the dying flames into a proper fire.

Plopping down beside Allen, onto one of the logs that they'd lugged over to set beside the fireplace, Lenalee gratefully accepted her own portion of the cheesy breakfast from Cho, and mumbled towards Allen, "Morning."

Allen momentarily flickered his gaze towards her, before returning his moonlit eyes to the snapping flames. "Rough night?"

Slightly startled by his response, Lenalee straightened up and offered him an exhausted smile, whispering, "Yeah. Lala's snoring was difficult to sleep through."

His lips momentarily twitched upwards, sending a small thrill through Lenalee at her small accomplishment. "Is that what that was? Timothy swore there was a bear stalking our campsite."

Lenalee had to choke back a snicker. "Um, does he not know there are no bears in the jungle?"

"Nothing we said calmed him down. In the end, cuddling with Lavi and Kanda was the only thing that put him to sleep…"

"No," Lenalee gasped, eyes wide.

"It's true!" Lavi butted in, grin sunny as ever. "Yuu was ready to stab the poor kid through the head, until we realized the little brat was finally snoring away. Ah, the look on Yuu's face… I shall forever treasure it!"

" _What_ exactly did Kanda want to do to my brother, cho~?" Chomesuke demanded, arms crossed and eyes narrowed.

"Not to worry, Cho! It was nothing I couldn't handle!" Lavi declared confidently. "At the end of the day, Yuu is cute and mushy on the inside!"

Lenalee sighed. "Please don't, Lavi. You know how Kanda will react if he hears you and that's the last thing we need."

"I don't know," Daisya remarked, finally transcending the morning zombie stage, "If Kanda is as good as he claims to be with that sword, we might be feasting on rabbit stew tonight!"

"Ew! That is so _gross_ , Daisya!" Lala cried.

"Speaking of food," Chomesuke began, " _Nobody_ touch the rest of it, cho~! _Or_ the water! I'm going to see if there's any way to ration it. Hopefully, it'll be enough to last us a while. Lavi, go make yourself useful and wake Timothy up, cho~. Once he eats, tell him to meet me down by the airplane. I'll be needing some help."

"Aw! Wouldn't you like _my_ help?" Lavi pouted.

"No," the brunette deadpanned, before stalking off.

Sheepishly scratching the back of his head, Lavi briefly stared after her, before shrugging and ambling off in the opposite direction. "I'm going to go exploring! I'll be back by lunch!" Lavi called, before he was swallowed up by the greenery.

"Um, should he really be going off alone?" Allen wondered.

Startling back to attention, Lenalee turned to him and offered him a confident smile. "Contrary to popular belief, Lavi is actually pretty intelligent. He can take care of himself for a couple hours. He should be just fine." Allen nodded, and returned to poking the fire with a stick. As an afterthought, Lenalee added, "And don't wake up Timothy. He's only a kid so he's probably had it rough. I'll go down and help Cho with whatever she needs."

"Sounds good," Allen replied absentmindedly, slipping his headphones out of his pocket.

"Okay!" Lenalee chirped as she hopped up. "I'll see you later!"

"See ya."

Trekking through the sand and down to the airplane, where the majority of the camping gear still sat beside the plane, Lenalee spotted Chomesuke among the equipment. Once she neared her side, Lenalee piped up, "Cho, I hope you don't mind that we allowed Timothy to sleep for a while longer. But I'm here to offer up any help that you need!"

"Oh. Oh no, that's fine," Chomesuke conceded with a tired smile. "Timothy must be really tired then, cho~. He's usually the first in the house to be up. And yes, could you please help me lug some of the bins over here by the cooler. It'll be easier to account for everything that way, cho~."

"Of course!" Lenalee nodded, and together, the two girls managed to complete the heavy lifting. And though Lenalee wasn't needed for much after that, she decided to stick around and keep the other girl company.

"Oh no," Chomesuke muttered, brow furrowing into an anxious frown as she sifted through the dozens of silver packages. To Lenalee's eyes, there seemed to be plenty, but it seemed Cho didn't find comfort in that.

"What's the matter?" Lenalee asked softly, placing a reassuring hand upon Chomesuke's shoulder.

"We don't have as much food as I thought. Watch— _I'm_ going to take the blame, cho~!" Chomesuke cried in despair.

Lenalee frowned. " _Why_? It's not _your_ fault, Cho."

"But if _I_ ration it, _I'll_ be the bad guy, cho~," Chomesuke insisted, hands curling into small fists.

"Cho? What's wrong?" Timothy's voice cut across their tense silence. Turning to the sleepy boy who had yet to change out of his pajamas, Chomesuke rose to her feet.

"Don't worry about it, Timothy. Are you hungry, cho~? Have you eaten yet?"

Lenalee discreetly slipped off, figuring that it would best for Chomesuke to distract herself by fussing over her kid brother. Meanwhile, she could only pray that maybe Lavi had better luck finding them food and water. When she arrived back to their campsite, it was to the sight of Daisya and Allen facing off.

"Okay," Allen grumbled, poking at the pile of wood that Daisya had dropped at his feet. " _This_ won't burn."

"Well then, why don't you try drying it in the sun?" Daisya snarked.

"Smart," Allen snorted and muttered, "Dry it in the sun…"

"Daisya!" Lenalee exclaimed, exasperated.

At the sight of her, Daisya thankfully complied. "Okay, _fine_. I'll go find more firewood for the pipsqueak!"

"You're not exactly very tall yourself, Bilbo," Allen groused, just as Lenalee plopped down beside him.

"Be nice," Lenalee admonished, bumping shoulders with him.

Allen seemed startled by the affectionate gesture, and Lenalee momentarily felt mortified by her actions. Had that been too forward? Desperate to take attention away from her previous actions, Lenalee quickly grasped onto a random thought and asked, "Say, do you think we need a leader? Chomesuke and I were talking about it yesterday, and maybe we won't be so disbanded if we choose someone to guide us…"

Allen blinked, and shook away whatever thoughts were running rampant in his head. Finally, he replied, "Yeah, sure. I mean, somebody I believe in. Don't think I'm quite there yet, though."

Lenalee smiled, pleasantly surprised by his response.

* * *

" _What_ are you doing?"

Caught unawares, Lenalee swiftly jumped up and snatched the silver camera down, snapping it shut. "Um, nothing," Lenalee muttered, and rushed off. But Lala was persistent, if not, nosy, and was quick to follow after her.

" _Don't_ say that!" Lala exclaimed, dogging her steps. "Because if it's true, then that means you're talking to yourself, and that would be like… _disturbing_."

Accepting the fact that Lala would not leave her be with a resigned sigh, Lenalee finally paused and turned towards her. "Alright," she admitted, "I'm making a video diary…"

Lala blinked. "You mean, like telling your side of what happened?"

"Yes," Lenalee nodded, and elaborated, "For when we get rescued. Lavi's making one as well. We each have our own tapes." And having known Lala for far too long, Lenalee pointedly tacked on, "And they're _private_!"

"Don't get all winky! I don't care about your dumb video," Lala huffed, arms crossed and lips pursed in thought. " _But_!" she suddenly exclaimed, carefully plucking the camera from Lenalee's hands. "Maybe _I_ should make one too!" Lala's lips curved into a thoughtful smile.

"Um, I don't know…" Lenalee murmured, brow furrowing. When Lala got an idea into her head, it tended to end in disaster.

"I'm just as stuck here as _you_ are!" the blonde snapped.

Lenalee heaved a sigh. "… Fine. Tapes are on the plane," she directed carefully, "Don't waste the battery, we only have one. Okay?" And just because Lenalee had a feeling that Lala might be tuning her out, she carefully repeated, "Don't. Waste. The battery."

"Okay! I heard you the first time!" Lala huffed and rolled her eyes. "What? Do you think I'm an _idiot_?"

Lenalee blinked. "Don't. Waste. The battery."

(Fortunately, for Lenalee, as soon as she returned to the plane to help Chomesuke with inventory, she had the luck of discovering the solar panel.)

* * *

 **~Daisya~**

When Lala hit him up with her most recent, brilliant idea, Daisya couldn't help but agree. Once he managed to look past her pretty face, the Turk realized how incredibly amusing it was to mess with the girl. And the best part? She didn't even realize it half the time! Actually, Daisya didn't think she ever really noticed. But whatever. "And… Action!" he shouted, right as he clicked the button to begin recording.

Lala, decked in her bikini top and a floor-length skirt, smiled prettily at the camera and dramatically began to act out her speech. "I'm standing with my feet in warm, South Pacific water on an unknown island. Is it a tropical paradise? Or _hell on earth_?" Lala emphasized with a gasp. "All we know is that I tried to take control of the airplane from that loser pilot and did my best to keep us flying! But we still crashed, and now, it's up to me to keep this ragtag band of castaways _alive_! My name is Lala Mater, and you're watching _my_ story as it's happening for real! Join me, won't you?"

Daisya knew the whole thing would be ruined if he didn't manage to keep a straight face, but on the inside, he was shaking with uncontrollable laughter. "Walk, walk, walk!" Daisya directed her in a whisper, and Lala did as he said, walking further down the beach. "Oh yeah!" he encouraged her with an ear-splitting grin. "Work it, babe! This is BO!"

And as expected, Lala stumbled to a halt, and demanded, "Wait, wait, _BO_?! Is that like, body odor?" Not so discreetly, Lala attempted to sniff her armpit.

"No, no," Daisya shook his head, biting back a snicker. "BO. Show-biz for Box Office. When the Hollywood guys see this, they're going to fight over who gets to make your movie! You're going to be famous."

Lala perked up. "And rich?"

"Uh, yeah, same thing," Daisya waved it off distractedly, checking over some of the footage he'd already shot.

" _Wow_!" Lala gasped.

"Okay, now," Daisya decided, "Let's shoot the scene where you single-handedly save the plane from being washed up into the ocean."

"Wait. Single handed?" Lala frowned. "Isn't that fake, though?"

"Uh, right!" Daisya snapped his fingers, and replied, "You can use both hands then! Come on!"

* * *

Side by side, Daisya and Lala sat on one of the wings of the airplane, viewing some of the footage they'd manage to shoot. The one playing on the small screen consisted of Lala sitting beside the fireplace back at the campsite. Lala's voice rang from the video, _"Phew! It took me forever to get this fire big and roaring! You can't survive without fire. Because fire is essential to uh… to uh—cut! Line?! I need my line!"_

"Why didn't you give me my line?" Lala pouted.

"Oh, uh," Daisya blinked, before fibbing, "No, no, no! It doesn't matter. You can say anything, you just look _great_."

" _Really_?" Lala perked up.

"Absolutely!" Daisya nodded.

"Oh. I've got _BO_ , baby," Lala giggled.

Daisya couldn't help it this time around when he burst into snickers. "Um, sure. Here you go, dollface," Daisya grinned, handing her the camera before hopping down onto the sand. "See ya!"

* * *

 **~Chomesuke~**

Once everyone—barring Kanda—met back at camp for lunch, Chomesuke prepared herself to deliver the bad news. Though it was once she saw Lavi stumble into view with the help of Allen, that she recalled having not been bothered by him all morning. "Lavi? What happened you, cho~?!" she demanded, hands on her hips. She already had enough to worry about without having Lavi going off and pulling a stupid stunt.

"Heh," Lavi chuckled nervously, adjusting his lopsided bandana, "I fell out of a coconut tree… But there's good news! I brought back some food! Look!"

Chomesuke eyed the five coconuts and cluster of bananas. "Was that all you could find, cho~? Wait! That's not even the point! What the hell were you thinking, going off on your own like that?! You could've gotten yourself killed, cho~! What would we have done then?! Huh?!"

"Aww!" Lavi's expression burst into a joyous grin. "I knew you cared, Chomesuke~!" He winked (or blinked?).

Flustered, Cho stammered, "T-that's not—"

"Did you ration the food?" Lenalee asked helpfully, drawing her attention away from the idiotic redhead.

"Um, right, yes, cho~!" Chomesuke nodded, and nervously faced the rest of her awaiting classmates. "I'm sorry, but I tried my best… I took inventory of all the food and water, cho~. The food is freeze-dried, but it _does_ have plenty of calories. I tried making menus to balance carbs, fats, and proteins, so that we have a minimum diet of 1500 calories per day—"

"Wait," Lavi cut her off, serious for once, "You said you rationed both the food and the water?"

"Yes, separately," Chomesuke nodded.

"And it's _dry_ food?" Lavi asked.

Apprehensive, Chomesuke nodded once more. "That's what I said, cho~."

Lavi sighed. "Did you figure that you have to add water to the food before you can eat it?"

Her eyes widened, but before she could admit to having not done that, Allen surprisingly spoke up, "What about when Captain Russell and the others come back? Did you count them in?"

Expression downcast, Chomesuke admitted, "No…"

"Well, not counting _any_ of that," Daisya pointed out, "How long would the food and water have lasted?"

Chomesuke bit her lip, hesitating, before admitting with a cringe, "Three days."

They erupted into shouts, and once they quieted down, Lala remarked, "Well, that's not so bad, right? Shouldn't we be rescued by then?"

"Get a clue, why don't you?" Daisya huffed. "Does it _look_ to you like any rescue has neared us since the crash?"

"No…" Lala admitted, shoulders slumping. "Um, I guess it won't help if I admit that I accidentally ran the battery out on the camera…"

"The one thing I ask you _not_ to do," Lenalee muttered underneath her breath, fingers rubbing at her temple. Louder, she announced, "Don't worry about running out of battery power, Lala. I found a solar panel in the airplane. It's got a series of 36 crystal silicon solar cells, plus a blocking diode, so we should be perfectly fine."

" _Yeah_. I think I speak for everyone when I say, _huh_?" Daisya remarked, causing Lenalee to flush with embarrassment. Being constantly surrounded by her brother and his colleagues sometimes made her forget that others didn't always understand her.

"She _means_ to say," Lavi elaborated on her behalf, "That it's a solar-powered battery charger. So it'll recharge any rechargeable batteries, such as the ones for the camera or the camping lanterns."

"Oh! Okay!" Lala nodded with a relieved smile.

"But back to the current problem at hand," Allen redirected the conversation, "It's obvious we might have to stick it out longer than _three days_. Was that all the food you were able to find, Lavi?"

"Eh? Oh! No! I found a couple of good patches where plenty of fruit grows, I just didn't have a pack with me, and couldn't carry it all by myself," Lavi explained with a grin, practically bouncing. "And I've got a perfect memory, so I memorized where all the good locations were. If no one minds surviving on fruit, we should be good."

"That's great!"

"Awesome!"

"Were you able to locate a water source?" Chomesuke asked, voice hopeful.

Lavi shook his head apologetically. "No, sorry Cho. I didn't get out that far."

"Oh."

"But hey! I've got a game we should play!" Lavi suddenly exclaimed. Everyone could only eye him in bewilderment as the redhead dug a crumpled piece of paper from out of his pocket and tore it into seven pieces, before passing them out. He then took out a pen and scribbled something on it, before passing the pen to Cho. "Write the name of the person who you think would be the best fit to lead!" Lavi suggested with a grin.

"Um, okay, cho~," she muttered, before doing as asked, and passing the pen to Lenalee. Once everyone followed through with the instructions, Lavi dumped the crumpled pieces of paper into Lenalee's hands and suggested for her to tally up the score.

"So! Do we have a winner?" the redhead grinned.

"Um, I think so?" Lenalee muttered.

"What does _that_ mean?" Daisya huffed.

"Two people voted for Chomesuke. Another two voted for Lavi. And three voted for… Allen," Lenalee announced, sending the boy with the stark white hair a cautious glance.

Their gazes fixed themselves upon Allen, and the boy could only blink. " _Me_?" he deadpanned.

"Well, looks like that's that!" Lavi decided with a clasp of his hands, grin a little too cheeky for Chomesuke's tastes. And she had a suspicion that Lavi had voted for the younger teen.

"Save it. I don't want the job," Allen retorted, expression perfectly blank, causing Chomesuke to gape.

"Then it's a good thing you don't have a choice!"

* * *

 **~Allen~**

"Fucking unbelievable," Allen grumbled underneath his breath, some hours later. After Lavi had declared that he didn't have a choice in the matter, everyone else had accepted it as fact and gone back to whatever they'd been doing before, not giving him further chance to protest. Currently, he was taking his anger out on a stupid branch with his switchblade, and accidentally altering it into a spear. Viciously, Allen continued to slash the tip of the branch, transforming it into a razor sharp point.

"Hey," Lenalee greeted him carefully, taking a seat beside him by the tree line.

Allen momentarily paused, before continuing. "Hey," he muttered, gaze glued onto his make-shift spear.

There was a brief moment of quiet, before Lenalee delicately ventured, "Why don't you want to become leader?"

"I'm not exactly cut out for the job," Allen huffed, gaze dark.

Lenalee pursed her lips in thought. "That's not the way I see it… There's something about you, Allen. I don't know if you've noticed, but so far, you're the only one who's been solid. Kanda's gone off on his own; Lavi's so moony-eyed over Cho, he hasn't focused on much else; Daisya and Lala aren't exactly taking the gravity of the situation to heart, but they're at least willing to help out; Cho's already anxious enough as it is, with the added fact that she also has to watch after her little brother; and me, I'm trying to do the best I can, but I don't have a clue as to what I'm doing."

"… And you think _I_ do?" Allen asked with a shake of his head. "From my viewpoint, you or Lavi would be better to deal with that position. You both know the rest well enough to handle them, and you're both serious and clever enough to not lose your heads."

"Your second point applies to you as well," Lenalee remarked, lips twitching upwards. "It's okay to be involved, you know. Why do you try so hard to keep us at a distance?"

Allen's eyes widened slightly, stunned that she'd pointed that out so blatantly. "I…" he trailed off, before explaining briefly, "It's just a habit. I never stick around long enough to actually form relationships."

"Well, here's your chance," Lenalee smiled, "We're not exactly going anywhere… So? Leader?"

Allen heaved a sigh. "Listen, I appreciate what you said. I really do. But… it's not me. I don't want any part in it. It's like, something happens to people when they get a little bit of power," he murmured, thoughts darkening as they drifted towards Cross, "You know? It's like, they thinks it's okay for them to mess with you, so they do."

Lenalee's expression grew concerned. "… It sounds like you speak from experience, Allen."

"Maybe," he shrugged, returning his attention to hacking at the spear with more vigor.

"Okay," Lenalee consented with a nod, before adding, "But you should understand one thing. _Because_ you don't want to have power over people—that's exactly _why_ you're perfect for the job." She stood, but before heading off, she murmured, "You may not think so, but we need you."

Allen didn't know _what_ to think.

* * *

 **~Chomesuke~**

"Where are we _going_?!" Daisya demanded as she dragged him off by the arm.

"You're going to help me, cho~," Chomesuke decided as they ventured further into the thick vegetation, a familiar path in mind. "Lavi's already discovered a second source for food, but that's not going to matter if we don't have fresh water to drink. So we're going to search for some, cho~!"

"Ugh, why me?" Daisya grumbled to himself, before finally shaking her grip off and following after her of his own accord. "Alright, fine, but you better not get us lost. And where are we even going? You don't seem keen on stopping to see if there's a river nearby…"

"I think I have an idea as to where we should start, cho~," she replied, and didn't elaborate until they broke into a familiar clearing. "This is where I got munched on by the leeches."

"Are you crazy?!" Daisya demanded, hopping back. "I don't want to get my blood sucked!"

Chomesuke rolled her eyes and assured him, "Oh, it won't get through your shoes, cho~."

Daisya cautiously ventured forward. "Why are we _here_? Is this some kind of sick punishment?"

"Well, Lavi said that the leeches were here, because the ground is damp," she explained, crouching down and pressing a hand against the fresh, wet earth and grass. "Feel that, cho~," she instructed, but Daisya seemed all too reluctant.

"No, no," he shook his head, pointedly remaining upright. "I think I'll take your word for it…" Daisya craned his head, gazing around the spacious clearing. Not spotting a nearby water source, he huffed, "So? What are we supposed to do? Suck the ground?"

Chomesuke pursed her lips in thought. "Well, if the ground is damp, there has to be water coming from _somewhere_. It's just a matter of finding out where, cho~! Come on, we've got to start looking!"

And so, they searched.

An hour later, they returned to the clearing sweaty and exhausted. Daisya gasped, "Enough! There's _nothing_ here!" Before he could plop down onto the ground in order to take a much needed break, Chomesuke pointedly reminded him of the leeches.

"It doesn't make sense, cho~!" Chomesuke exclaimed with a huff. "No streams, no ponds, so where's the water coming from?!"

"I dunno," Daisya grumbled, shielding his face from the brilliant sunrays. "Underground?"

"Underground…?" Chomesuke frowned, before jumping up excitedly. "Daisya! You're a genius, cho~!" she cheered, removing her pack and digging out a shovel. Dropping to her knees, she began to dig enthusiastically.

Daisya gaped. "You're kidding me, right? You're trying to dig a well like a _farmer_?"

"I figure if we just a dig a bit deeper…" Chomesuke muttered, concentrating as she deepened the whole. And like a magic, water suddenly bubbled up, before filling up the hole in a steady stream. "We got it, cho~!" she cheered. "It must be an underground spring! Look! It's filling up, cho~!"

Daisya crouched beside her. "You think it's any good to drink?" he wondered.

"Well, I don't know, but it's not like there's any pollution around, cho~," she mused.

"Might be salt water," he pointed out. "We can't drink that."

"Only one way to find out!" Chomesuke decided. "Try it."

Daisya momentarily hesitated, before cautiously dipping his cupped hands into the water and taking a sip. Eyes brightening, he nodded rapidly.

"We did it, cho~!"

* * *

 **~Allen~**

Later that afternoon found them all sitting on the left wing of the airplane, gratefully clutching onto their aluminum water bottles, greedily gulping down as much water as they liked. Though Allen hadn't complained, he'd been dying of thirst for the past day.

"Ew, it's hot!" Lala spluttered.

"We had to boil it to make sure it's safe and filtered," Lavi explained.

"And we couldn't find an ice machine, cho~," Chomesuke quipped with a smile.

Hopping down onto the sand, Allen stood and turned to face them. "I have something say," he announced, trying not to fidget and implementing his poker face. "After talking with Lenalee… I think I'm going to give this a shot."

"Never doubted you for a second, shortstack!" Lavi grinned, offering him a thumbs-up.

Allen grimaced. "My name is _Allen_."

"Alright chief, you're on," Daisya decided, "How's this going to work?"

Allen pursed his lips. "Staying alive is going to take a lot of work," he began, "So we'll all just stick to what we know best."

"Wait!" Chomesuke interrupted. "Where's Lenalee? Shouldn't she be here for this?"

"I'm in here!" they heard Lenalee's voice from within the airplane. "I'm isolating the battery context to make sure they're not grouded in case of another electrical storm!"

"… Okay, I'm not the only one who didn't understand a word of that, right?" Lala asked.

"Nope. Ditto," Daisya muttered.

"Yeah, well neither did I," Allen continued, "Which is why Lenalee will be in charge of dealing with all the tech. There might other things on the plane we can use, so it'll be her job to figure that out. Additionally, we'll need someone to keep an eye on the radio, just in case any plane flies by close enough that we can get in contact with them." Shifting his gaze towards the entry of the airplane, Allen called, "You got all that?"

"Yep! Crystal clear!" Lenalee grinned, popping her head out.

"Ooh! Do I get a cool job too?" Timothy piped up with a grin.

"Um, yeah sure kid." Digging into his pants pocket, Allen plucked out his lighter and flung it in Timothy's direction. Fortunately, the kid caught it. "You can be in charge of keeping the fire alight. As well as stocking up on plenty of firewood."

"Sweet!" Timothy cheered, but before anyone could protest giving such a job to a kid, Allen continued.

"Right, Daisya, you'll be in charge of lugging the water jugs back and forth from the well to the campsite so that we'll have enough water," Allen appointed, and continued to speak over the Turk's complaints, "Chomesuke, your job will be to ration the food, boil the water, and schedule the meals."

"Perfect, cho~!" she beamed.

Turning to the tall redhead, Allen continued, "Lavi, you'll be in charge of organizing searches for food and find other ways to use what's on the island."

"Aye aye, cap!" Lavi saluted him.

"What about me?" Lala piped up curiously.

"Since you seem to enjoy using the camera so much," Allen began, "You'll be making sure that all the batteries stay fully charged using the solar panel Lenalee found. I'm sure she won't mind showing you how to use it."

"Oh, okay!" Lala agreed, probably relieved that her job wouldn't be as strenuous.

"And _I'll_ make sure it all gets done," Allen concluded, relieved to be done.

"And I figure," Lenalee piped up, finally stepping out of the airplane and hopping atop the wing with careful help from Lavi. "And I figure that as long as we're stuck here," she continued, setting up an odd looking device atop the airplane that might've resemble speakers, "That we should try to make it as much like home as we can. Allen? Can you toss me your iPod?"

"Uh, sure," Allen agreed, digging the device out from his pocket and carefully tossing it in her direction, which she caught expertly. Hooking it up to the device, Lenalee fiddled with his iPod before allowing the music to blast.

"Whoa, nice going Lenalee!"

Lenalee was accepting their cheers and compliments gracefully, when suddenly, a new voice spoke up, "Huh. You're all still alive…"

They all swiveled their heads and spotted Kanda up by the tree line, casually leaning against a tree. "It's barely our second day stranded here, you asshole!" Daisya shouted.

"Che," was Kanda's only retort.

"Hey shortstack!" Lavi called, jumping up eagerly. "You're the boss now, so you've got to give Yuu a job!"

Expertly slipping out his katana, Kanda took a dangerous step forward and snarled, "Don't fucking call me that!"

"Um, okay…" Allen sighed, rubbing his temples in an attempt to drive off the rising headache. "Just please, don't kill or maim anyone…"

* * *

 **A/N:** And that's the end of Day 2! Hope I'm not dragging this out too much… But be sure to let me know your thoughts in a review!^.^


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